Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy

Common Name(s)

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy is the third most common hereditary disease of muscle after Duchenne (DMD; {310200}) and myotonic ({160900}) dystrophy. It is a highly variable disorder with weakness appearing from infancy to late life but typically in the second decade. In general, the disease initially involves the face and the scapulae followed by the foot dorsiflexors and the hip girdles. Typical features are striking asymmetry of muscle involvement from side to side and sparing of bulbar extraocular and respiratory muscles ({76:Tawil et al., 1998}).
{62:Richards et al. (2012)} provided a detailed review of FSHD.
See also FSHD2 ({158901}), which is phenotypically indistinguishable from FSHD1, but not associated with contraction of the D4Z4 microsatellite repeat. Evidence suggests, however, that epigenetic changes in this region are associated with both FSHD1 and FSHD2 ({116:Zeng et al., 2009}).

The Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy Society (FSH Society) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit tax-exempt U.S. corporation organized in 1991 to fund, encourage and promote scientific and clinical research on Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD).

Our mission is to impact the lives of those affected by FSH Muscular Dystrophy by: financially supporting FSHD research, stimulating new research and funding pilot studies, and supporting researchers by hosting FSHD research workshops.

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Advocacy and Support Organizations

Condition Specific Organizations

Following organizations serve the condition "Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy" for support, advocacy or research.

The Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy Society (FSH Society) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit tax-exempt U.S. corporation organized in 1991 to fund, encourage and promote scientific and clinical research on Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD).

Our mission is to impact the lives of those affected by FSH Muscular Dystrophy by: financially supporting FSHD research, stimulating new research and funding pilot studies, and supporting researchers by hosting FSHD research workshops.

General Support Organizations

Recommended Apps

Anonymously share and see how your answers compare with others with this condition while privately providing key pieces of information to medical researchers, disease advocacy groups, and others ONLY YOU select to help speed up cures and better alternatives.

Finding the right clinical trial for Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy can be challenging. However, with TrialsFinder (which uses the Reg4ALL database and privacy controls by Private Access), you can permit researchers to let you know opportunities to consider - all without revealing your identity.

Scientific Literature

Articles from the PubMed Database

Research articles describe the outcome of a single study. They are the published results of original research.
The terms "Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy" returned 80 free, full-text research articles on human participants.
First 3 results:

Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is linked to epigenetic dysregulation of the chromosome 4q35 D4Z4 macrosatellite. However, this does not account for the tissue specificity of FSHD pathology, which requires stable expression of an alternative full-length mRNA splice form ...

The Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy (FSHD) is an autosomal dominant neuromuscular disorder whose incidence is estimated in about one in 400,000 to one in 20,000. No effective therapeutic strategies are known to halt progression or reverse muscle weakness and atrophy. It is ...

FSHD2 is a rare form of facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) characterized by the absence of a contraction in the D4Z4 macrosatellite repeat region on chromosome 4q35 that is the hallmark of FSHD1. However, hypomethylation of this region is common to both subtypes. Recently, ...

Reviews from the PubMed Database

Review articles summarize what is currently known about a disease. They discuss research previously published by others.
The terms "Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy" returned 8 free, full-text review articles on human participants.
First 3 results:

In recent years, we have seen remarkable progress in our understanding of the disease mechanism underlying facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). The purpose of this review is to provide a comprehensive overview of our current understanding of the disease mechanism and to ...

According to ClinicalTrials.gov there are currently 7 additional "open" studies for "Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy" (open studies are recruiting volunteers) and 20 "Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy" studies with "all" status. Visit ClinicalTrials.gov now to view them. Or alternatively, consider TrialsFinder for assistance:

Relief is when you and the right researcher find each other
Finding the right clinical trial for Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy can be challenging. However, with TrialsFinder (which uses the Reg4ALL database and privacy controls by Private Access), you can permit researchers to let you know opportunities to consider - all without revealing your identity.